Patton J. Mallicott says it's all 'sour grapes'

HAMPTON — Nan and Don Smith hugged while looking over their five-acre lot in Isle of Wight County — a country plot with giant, spindly pine trees towering over them and two-foot-high brush at their feet. A creek runs through the back of their property, land that at one time they hoped would be partially cleared for a 5,000-square-foot, five-bedroom luxury home.

Instead, the Hampton couple said they are out more than $50,000, their credit is damaged and they can no longer afford such a home for their retirement.

In a lawsuit, they blame Hampton builder Patton J. Mallicott, who was convicted in 2011 in Maryland of a fraud-related felony charge, had his builder's license revoked in Virginia, and has been the subject of similar lawsuits by people claiming that Mallicott absconded with their money after failing to complete homes that he started. Mallicott declared bankruptcy in 2009.

Mallicott is also the focus of a current criminal investigation by Hampton police, according to a state official.

Mallicott told the Daily Press that none of the accusations are true — even the felony conviction in Maryland.

"All I was doing," he said, "was trying to help people."

Standing in front of the vacant lot, Nan Smith wiped away a tear on a recent chilly morning.

"I'm so sad being out here. This was our dream," she said. She clutched the architectural drawings for the house that never came to be. "Our dream is no more."

Smith said they can no longer afford the dream, as the Hampton couple has become embroiled in a legal dispute with Mallicott.

Mallicott, the Smiths contend, took more than $100,000 from them, contracting to build their home despite not having a valid Virginia contractor's license. Minus the value of the lot, the Smiths said they lost about $53,000 that is likely to never be recovered.

Mallicott's wife, Lauren, signed the contract with the Smiths. She was found guilty in 2011 in Hampton General District Court of contracting without a license, a misdemeanor, and fined $91. Lauren Mallicott told the Daily Press that the Smiths' was the only contract she signed and she wasn't normally involved in her husband's business.

Patton Mallicott — who was convicted of felony fraud-related charges in Maryland for an unrealized contract to build a house for his cousin in Prince George's County — claims he has done nothing wrong and is not guilty of fraud. He said in all cases, it's merely sour grapes from people who couldn't afford the houses they wanted built. The deals fall through, he said, and he becomes a convenient scapegoat.

"Some people want the champagne house, but they only have a beer pocketbook," Mallicott told the Daily Press.

Interviews with several victims and court and state records show that in addition to the fraud conviction, Mallicott lost civil cases in which the plaintiffs accused him of accepting large sums of money, then not completing the work.

The state revoked Mallicott's contractor's license in 2006, but his wife still contracted to build the Smiths' home. In Maryland, he never obtained a state builder's license and never took out building permits despite accepting a $55,400 advance from his cousins, Merry and Troy Wiley, according to Prince George's County Sheriff's Office.

"He needs to face reality. He has hurt people," said Merry Wiley, who lives in Prince George's County, Maryland. The Wileys were the victims in the Maryland case.

"He is trouble, coming and going," Merry Wiley said.

Mallicott said the Smiths, the Wileys and others are looking for someone to blame after the deal goes bad.

"That's when the fingerpointing begins," Mallicott said. "People have a lot of schemes to get money out of you."

Mallicott, 64, said he's built about 75 custom luxury homes since the 1970s, and only a few have been contentious.

As for why he doesn't have a Virginia license, Mallicott said he let it lapse in the mid-2000s and would have paid the $4,500 fine to get it automatically renewed had the Smith's home gone forward.

Ernie Atkins, an investigator with the state Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation, said when a license is revoked, it's not merely a matter of paying the fine to become re-licensed. The contractor must go back before the Virginia Board for Contractors and prove that he merits having his license reinstated.

The 2006 Board for Contractors report said Mallicott's license was revoked because he was paid for work he didn't complete and refused to return the money, hired unlicensed subcontractors and refused to correct building code violations.

"Mallicott's work stoppage was intentional and unjustified," the report said.

"Once Mallicott was terminated from the project, P. Mallicott had an obligation to refund the overpayment back to the complainants. Mallicott's failure to do so is a serious violation of the board's regulation," the report said.

The Hampton couple referenced in the Board for Contractors report declined to comment.